Talk:Comfortably Numb

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An infobox was requested for the Scissor Sisters' 2003 version of "Comfortably Numb" at Wikipedia:WikiProject_Missing_encyclopedic_articles/List_of_notable_songs/3.

Evidence regarding Gilmour's lyrics, please? Andy Mabbett 09:04, 12 Jun 2004 (UTC)

I forget where I heard about the entire thing I wrote. The downfalls of pot are exposed.
There's a pie in it for whoever finds where the stuff I put down is from... The one part I know I remember is the part about them settling on using Gilmour's intro riff, and another piece of trivia on the page I found it on was about the thing Mason did after somebody gave Meddle a bad review that I am about to put on the triva page... Quite an amusing story, I laughed my ass off when I heard it! - Fizscy46 17:04, 12 Jun 2004 (UTC)

I've noticed you've removed quite a large amount of the details that I put in this article that were factual and interesting bits on the song (With the exception of the unproven part of the different lyrics) - Fizscy46 03:23, 29 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Surely more than this can be found to be said? Is someone repeatedly cropping this? - Concerned User.



Shamelessly Irreverant?

Thats the most NPOV statement I've seen in ages. Just because the cover doesn't sound like the original <npov>dirge</npov> doesn't mean its irreverant. Its not like the track was even hugely popular and regarded the first time around - if it was, it might be more acceptable to say its irreverant <npov>like Orgy's cover of Blue Monday was</npov>. And the Scissor Sisters received full permission to cover it. And their version is much better live, IMHO. Kiand 21:36, 11 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Contents

[edit] What Drug Is He Singing About?

Does anyone know if the song comforably numb is about lsd. Cause i for some reason feel that it is. I just had my first trip on it, and i notice similarities in this song with what i experienced in my trip. I also get quick flashbacks when i listen to the song now, which i cant say is a bad thing at all. Then again, thoes flashbacks may just get annoying cause i only too the trip a few days ago. Please tell me if anyone feels this same way. I always thought it was about pot before my lsd experience, but things such as, coming thru in waves, make me think of the lsd. to you non users, when on lsd (at least for me) the high was a constant roller coaster of the trip going from extreme to not so extreme, changing every 5 or so mins. Even during the next 12 hrs or so after the effects wore off, i still got waves of feeling.

  • My understanding of the story behind the song is this: While on tour, a member of Pink Floyd became sick with flu right before a concert. Instead of calling a 'real' doctor who might dispense sensible medical advice (like bed rest, drinking lots of fluids, cancelling the concert, etc.), the concert promoter called a doctor feelgood, who gave the musician an injection, which would have likely contained vitamins and/or a stimulant and/or a painkiller. That's the story I heard, and I'm sticking to it! - Two Halves
    • Most hallucinogens can lead to these types of sensations, so your experience in itself wouldn't answer the question. However, given the popularity of LSD during Pink Floyd's heyday, I would say it's reasonable to suggest the song is about LSD, if it's about any drug specifically. QuinnHK 04:54, 9 August 2007 (UTC)

The member of Pink Floyd who had the injection painkiller thing was Roger. He recalls the incident in the commentary to the Wall dvd when the other guy with him (i think it was gerald scarfe) asked him if what was being shown during the Comfortably Numb sequence ever happened to Waters. 172.162.250.57 18:41, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Demo

Does somebody know the lyrics of the demo tape version of Comfortably Numb? ~~WhiteTimberwolf 21:34, 26 July 2005 (UTC)

They can be found here: http://www.neptunepinkfloyd.co.uk/features/cnumb/floyd_demo_lyrics.php. A demo mp3 of the song can be found here, http://www.neptunepinkfloyd.co.uk/features/cnumb/. --ShadowJester07 21:49, 26 April 2006 (UTC)


it's about HEROIN. "just a little pin prick..." it's about heroin. Twinkletos1211 22:21, 28 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Sir Bob Geldof

Isn`t it weird that the chorus is sung by Gilmour...? The chorus are Pinks thaughts right? And Sir Bob Geldof is the actor of Pink in the film: The Wall? Then isn`t it a bit weird that Sir Bob Geldof isn`t the one singing in the chorus? Or am i missunderstanding? Kim Pløhn (Norway) hundremeterskogen@gmail.com


Sir Bob Geldof only played Pink in the film. Before the film there was the Concept Album with Gilmour singing the part of Pink. JP Godfrey 13:59, 25 November 2005 (UTC)

Yeah, Sir Bob only played Pink in the film. The album was completed before the film was started. I'm not sure if Sir Bob does any singing in the film version of the song. I've got a vague feeling that the only singing he does in the film is in the song Stop. Sven945 00:12, 16 December 2006 (UTC)
No, he sings "In the Flesh?" and "In the Flesh" too. --200.118.236.184 00:46, 25 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Lyrics by Gilmour?

Is there any sources regarding words written for Gilmour's solo work? Floyd(Norway) 13:14, 13 April 2006 (UTC)

I think the solo was written for Gilmour's solo album, but he decided to include it in this song instead. The words were written by Roger Waters, though I remember having read a quote by Gilmour saying that Comfortably Numb was completely his own creation. Bluerain 15:19, 13 May 2006 (UTC)

No, Gilmour claimed (correctly) that he wrote 'every note of the *music*' (see Miles' Pink Floyd visual documentary book), but the lyrics are by Waters. All Floyd's lyrics from Dark Side to Final Cut were written by Waters, without exception. I will correct the article accordingly. Martyn Smith 22:34, 17 June 2006 (UTC)

I have the earlier Gilmour s version: he didnt wrote all the music, actually the parts that are sung by Waters have additional notes, that were added together with the words by Waters himself. --Doktor Who 06:03, 15 July 2006 (UTC)
Martyn, I have no doubt the Miles book says that very thing, but in an interview with some guitar magazine or other, Gilmour said that Roger wrote the chord sequence for the "I have become comfortably numb" part. (Asus4, A, G/B, Cadd9, G, D, if you're interested). --63.25.27.249 18:34, 10 May 2007 (UTC)
From Gilmour's demo (the one that appears in the Total Eclipse box set), someone changed the chord progression for the verse before the final version and the intermediary version that appears on the Under Construction bootleg. Whether it was Waters or Gilmour (or Bob Ezrin, for that matter) who changed them I know not. Also, I know that Waters asked Gilmour to lengthen the chorus to add the lyric "I have become comfortably numb," but I have seen nothing that says who wrote that chord sequence. Carolus 22:52, 27 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] YouTube

The link that led to the youtube video of Comfortably Numb live no longer works because the video was removed. Copyright infringment. I went ahead and removed the link.

[edit] Category: Scissor Sister songs

I think this category is incorrect. This article is about the orignal Pink Floyd song, not about the cover (except for the reference). A separate page for the cover song should be created, and that article can be placed under the Scissor Sister Song category. Ninja neko 07:25, 1 August 2006 (UTC)

I agree, I added some info on that cover, but I did not add that cat. Feel free to remove. --Doktor Who 07:51, 1 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Content concerns in History section

I've removed the following text, twice:

"THE PRECEDING CLAIM IS NOT TRUE] I'll leave it up to the Wikipedia staff to edit this comment. "Mother" is another stand-alone track on "The Wall." Immediately before "Mother" is the sound of a telephone busy signal, followed by a quick inhale and exhale, like someone blowing out a candle. Then there's a brief pause before the first guitar note of "Mother." "Mother" is the last song on side 1 of the vinyl version, so it does not fade into another track. Also, the line "Is there anybody out there" is not really part of "Bring The Boys Back Home." It's a brief interlude between BTBBH and CN, that echoes the song "Is There Anybody Out There.""

I can't comment on how correct either the current article or this correction is, but this isn't really an appropriate way to raise the concern. There are no "Wikipedia staff" to edit the article; if you really think the text is wrong, just fix it. Eron 03:22, 9 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Lyrics

I've just removed an addition of the complete lyrics. That's a copyright violation. See Wikipedia:Lyrics and poetry for more information.

I think that some judicious quotes from the lyrics to explain the themes of the song would be an excellent addition to the article, and would fall under fair use. We just can't quote the complete lyrics with no commentary. Eron 12:17, 11 October 2006 (UTC)

One could do a fair use quote, but I don't think it's really necessary. The song's meaning in the plot of the story has been explained pretty well. --63.25.27.249 19:04, 10 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Cover Versions

I think the statement regarding Van Morrison covering the song on The Departed soundtrack is incorrect. I think the version on the soundtrack is actually taken from the album The Wall: Live in Berlin (1990). This is a duet with Van Morrison and Roger Waters.

Before I changed the entry, I was wondering if anyone agreed.

~Faded

By all means! No version that appears on an album by Roger Waters can be considered a cover. --63.25.27.249 18:36, 10 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Three solos?

I'd like to know who counted three solos. I just sat and listened to the song very carefully, with a calculator by my side, and it came out to two. So I changed it. --63.25.27.249 19:07, 10 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Why is Comfortably Numb a stand alone song?

As written, the history seems to imply it was because it was CN was the beginning of Side 4. Furthermore, it goes on to say that the CD's Dark Side and Wish You Were here have cross fades from side 1 to side. That's not true. I have one of the earliest pressings of WYWH and I've got the first U.S. pressing of Dark Side (the original version sold in the U.S. seemed to be a European version, while later versions (prior to 92) were had the capital imprint), and Side 1 and 2 on both are not connected in anyway. I don't have recent WYWH pressings, but I've got the most recent Dark Side, and there's no cross fade there either.

I'm not going to edit the history, but that section seems baseless at best and is almost certainly incorrect. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.65.233.53 (talk) 07:02, 9 February 2008 (UTC)